This invention relates to an electronic photographing device that records photographed image data on a recording medium, and more particularly to an electronic photographing device that transmits and receives the image data stored on the storage medium to and from another electronic photographing device.
An electronic still camera that converts an optical still image picked up by a lens into an electronic signal by means of a CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) and stores it onto a recording medium, such as a semiconductor memory or a floppy-disk, is known as an electronic photographing device. Since the electronic still camera stores still images in the form of electrical information, it enables various image processes to be carried out, such as reproducing the stored still images on a television receiver or transmitting them to a remote area via a transmission channel.
It is known that the image data stored in an electronic still camera is transmitted and received to and from a piece of electronic equipment, such as a personal computer. Such an electronic still camera has been disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 7-311191 filed in Japan on Nov. 25, 1995, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. However, when the image data is transmitted from an electronic still camera to another electronic still camera, for example, the image data to be transmitted has to be first transferred to a piece of external electronic equipment, such as a personal computer, and thereafter the external electronic equipment has to transfer the image data to another electronic still camera, causing the problem of requiring much time and labor and requiring additional equipment such as the external electronic equipment.